Graded Light and tightening. 6 laws, orders, rulings and local actions, each with its source, reviewed 23 October 2026.
HB 911, effective 1 July 2026, bars service to any new 50 MW load until the commission approves the contract; Idaho Power needs special contracts above 20 MW.
HB 911 (1 July 2026) requires a no-harm test, cost allocation and financial security in every 50 MW contract, applied case by case rather than as a rate class.
No statewide siting rule or local pause; Kuna approved the 620-acre Gemstone Technology Park in April 2025 and the appeal is pending.
The sales tax exemption stays intact with its investment thresholds after the H0897 rollback died in March 2026.
HB 895, effective 1 July 2026, limits consumptive cooling water: new sites must use non-consumptive or recycling designs or take municipal or district supply.
Scored on rules in force, 1 to 5. 5 is the most regulated. Pending rules set the arrow.
Idaho's 2026 session left the data center sales tax exemption in place after a rollback bill died, but passed two new obligations. HB 911 requires utilities to get Public Utilities Commission approval of contracts for new loads of 50 MW or more, with a test that existing customers are not harmed. HB 895 limits consumptive water use for cooling. Both took effect 1 July 2026. Idaho Power already requires special contracts for loads above 20 MW, and the Kuna area south of Boise is the center of activity, with Meta's campus and the 620-acre Gemstone Technology Park, whose rezoning is under appeal at the Idaho Supreme Court.
HB 911 and HB 895 have been in force since 1 July 2026, so the first commission reviews of 50 MW contracts under the no-harm test can now be filed and will show how the commission applies it. The Idaho Supreme Court has the farmers' appeal, filed in June 2026, against Kuna's 3 to 2 approval of the Gemstone Technology Park after a district judge rejected their conflict-of-interest claim in May 2026. Sponsors have tried to cut the sales tax exemption in both 2025 and 2026, so another attempt in the 2027 session is likely.
No. As of 23 October 2026 no statewide or local moratorium on data centers is in force in Idaho. Proposals and expired pauses are not counted.
Tightening. Idaho is graded Light, which means incentives in place and few new obligations. Tax break kept; 50 MW loads now need commission-approved contracts. The outlook above says what is pending.
Idaho sits in The West outside California. The grid operator decides how a new large load is studied, what it must bring or pay, and whether it can be curtailed first; the state decides siting, permits, tariffs and incentives.
No. Idaho's data center incentives were not pulled back in 2025 or 2026 as of 23 October 2026.
On Genloop's five-line rubric (1 least regulated, 5 most) Idaho scores grid connection 2, power rates 3, siting and land use 1, tax treatment 2, permits and water 4, a mean of 2.4. The most regulated line is permits and water: HB 895, effective 1 July 2026, limits consumptive cooling water: new sites must use non-consumptive or recycling designs or take municipal or district supply.
6 items: each is a law, order, tariff, ruling, utility action or local decision that changes what a data center must do, pay or disclose, or where it may be built. Failed and pending measures are marked. Each links to its source.
Layne Thornton and the Toledo dairy entities petitioned in August 2025 to overturn Kuna's approval of the 620-acre Gemstone Technology Park, arguing Council Member Greg McPherson should have recused himself. District Judge James Cawthon denied the petition in May 2026, finding no direct economic conflict, and the farmers appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court in June 2026. The case is pending.
Source: boisedev.comSigned 10 April 2026 (Session Law chapter 335) and effective 1 July 2026 after passing the House 65 to 3 and the Senate 34 to 1. Utilities must submit contracts for any new load of 50 MW or more at a service entrance for commission approval before service starts, pass a no-harm test for existing customers, and meet cost allocation, financial security and dispute resolution requirements.
Source: legislature.idaho.govSigned 2 April 2026 (Session Law chapter 291) and effective 1 July 2026. Limits consumptive water use for data center cooling: new facilities must use non-consumptive or recycling cooling designs or take supply from a municipal, water district or water and sewer district system, to protect existing water rights for agriculture and industry.
Source: legislature.idaho.govA bill to sunset the data center sales tax exemption after 20 years, narrow it to server equipment and add power-use criteria died in March 2026 when the House did not take up Senate amendments. The exemption stays on the books; a similar effort failed in 2025.
Source: boisedev.comThe Kuna City Council voted 3 to 2 in April 2025 to rezone 620 acres of farmland near Locust Grove and Barker Roads for Diode Ventures' Gemstone Technology Park, a phased data center campus separate from Meta's site; the developer pledged $12 million to police, $32 million to the fire district and $500,000 to schools. Neighboring farmers sought judicial review in August 2025 alleging a council member's conflict of interest; a district judge denied the petition in May 2026 and the farmers appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court in June 2026. The project could qualify for the state sales tax exemption.
Source: boisedev.comThe commission approved an energy services agreement with Brisbie LLC on 11 May 2023 (Order 35777) after staff review aimed at ensuring existing customers would not see rate increases from it. Idaho Power customers above 20 MW must take service under a special contract.
Source: puc.idaho.govNeed the capacity sooner than the queue allows? Every unit in the register is held by Genloop, restored and re-warrantied, and can move on your timeline.
Fast-track power →